Budapest, 5:25 p.m.

We've traveled a long way today. We were down loading our shuttle at 4:30 a.m. this morning. All the youth were on time and offered great help. The shuttles took us the short distance to the train station where we caught the 5:50 a.m. inter-city to Budapest. The accomodations on the train were pretty plush...especially compared to the bus trip the other direction. But even more wonderful was watching the sun rise over the mountains in this most beautiful part of Transylvania. Breathtaking.

Last night we had a nice celebration. We surprised John L. with Gary's version of the Beverly Hillbillie's theme song. I had talked to folks earlier in the week about how we might offer our appreciation to John for all his work. Two days later Gary gleefully showed me his wonderful ditty. And he didn't know that this was the song a previous group had offered at the bonfire in Szentgerice years before. John was surprised and I think he knows we do appreciate all he has done.

We arrived here today at around noon. This gave everyone a chance to do a few last things. We tried to see the Parliment but arrived too late. I found a beautiful book about Transylvania. Please ask to see it if you're interested in some beautiful perspectives on this place. Tonight Emery has made a reservation for any who are interested at a restaurant that features gypsy music.

We will be shuttled to the airport tomorrow morning around 8:30 a.m. Our flight from Paris is scheduled to leave at 4-something in the afternoon here to arrive at Dulles at 6-something Virginia time.

As I return and gather my thoughts more, I will add some final reflections to the blog. I hope some of my fellow travelers might add their own comments (and probably corrections). Thank you for reading.